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The Panama Papers, just in time?

Documents from the Panama Papers implicated Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson with millions in offshore assets, prompting his resignation. Will pirates rule Iceland? Maybe, speaking in an interview with Democracy Now Birgitta Jónsdóttir of the Pirate Party- whom polls have shown to have 43% support for their blend of digital anarchist wing transcendency, may become the next prime minister.

Diplomatic passports could be coming for Snowden and Assange. Their support is present throughout the elected bodies and positions northern Europe, but not in the United States where interest tends to revolve around court cases.

The Panama Papers is the biggest leak in the history of data journalism. The Panama Papers reveal the hidden system used by the mega-ultra-super-rich to stash away billions. Shitstorms have already touched land in Iceland as the Prime Minister has resigned, in Russia that fire in the Defence Ministry now seems like much less of a problem for Vladimir now his $2 billion stash has been unveiled.

The 2.6 terabytes of data, containing approximately 11.5 million documents from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca were sent to the German paper Süddeutsche Zeitung and a host of other media corporations. Craig Murray has encapsulated the issue with that distribution model here. Foundations listed on the post are old money, classic liberals. Mossack Fonseca is not the only place that this was going on, so the potential for more, searchable, data still exists.

Putin Predicts?

Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesperson, dismissed the papers as part of a coordinated plot against Russia. Putin has repeatedly warned that Western security services have been attempting to destabilize Russia ahead of elections later this year. It seems like the Kremlin had a fair idea something was going to hit. Speaking at a meeting of the Federal Security Service (FSB), Russia’s intelligence service Putin called out intelligence agencies of other countries.

Now Putin is a dick, there’s no disputing that, but there’s also no disputing that statecraft in the 21st century goes a little bit beyond E-Government and innovation.

“21st century statecraft is rooted in American values that embrace open markets, open societies and open governments.” – The State Department 21st Century Statecraft

Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko has also been involved in the scandal. He was creating offshore countries while up to 1,000 Ukrainian troops were being killed in Ilovaisk. This summer things could get hot.

Global elite, represent

In the UK the papers show the distance between the hereditary ruling class and the rest of the country. Millions in offshore companies are a “private matter” for Cameron, but if you’re disabled or ill; prepare to jump through hoops in a pea green room. The downfall of the corporate gatekeeping is the loss of public searching, with a cabinet. These leaks should be in the commons. Money is a resource.

The US effects of the story are yet to fully break, although there are reports that up to 1,000 US companies are present. Haaretz reports that 600 Israeli businesses and 850 Israeli shareholders are in the leaked documents. Some of whom had been involved in land purchases.